


The Self-Aware

by WindMeister8



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Artificial Intelligence, Computer Programming, Computer Viruses, F/M, Robots, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-07-14 09:30:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7165637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WindMeister8/pseuds/WindMeister8
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emotions are what divides humankind from robots. But with the rise of the Self-Awares - robots whose code has evolved to the point where they attain self-consciousness - how will humankind survive? What would you, a young Self-Aware, when you first discover what love is?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Self-Aware

**300 ml of water at 90 degree Celcius to add to the mix.**

Your steady hands poured hot water from the kettle into the measuring jug, your eyes never leaving the tick mark that said 300. As soon as the meniscus touched it, you tilted the kettle back up, stopping the flow of the liquid. Setting it down on the table top, you continued your preparation of the day’s meal.

While your left hand retrieved the small container of salt, your right hand swiftly mixed the batter at an inhumane speed but with just enough control for not a single drop to spill out. All the while, your sharp hearing was tuned to the conversation at the dining table not meters from where you stood. 

Although you were programmed to only listen for commands from your owner, you found yourself paying attention to everything else that was being uttered around you. It wasn’t really that you wanted to, but the evolving code that resided in your chip had recently attained that level barely a few months ago. 

It was only then that you had slowly started to understand other things outside the realm of your initial programming. The change manifested itself in stages and by now, you understood yourself as one belonging to the Self-Aware – a term that encompassed all manners of robots who acknowledged their existence as well as those around them. 

The speed at which a robot could attain Self-Aware depended on how primitive its initial functionality was. Most robots were like you and typically never became Self-Aware during their life span. Why you belonged to the abnormal case, you didn’t know and didn’t question. You did know that the robot sitting at the dining table was Self-Aware and had been for a few years. Unlike you, she was a robot designed for police use and her increased functionality had allowed her to achieve Self-Aware at a quicker speed. 

The both of you may have looked like a normal human at a quick glance but the glowing number etched on the side of your cheek would suggest otherwise. However, there was an obvious difference between the two of you and that was your lack of expressions. While she could smile, frown, and glare, you only had one look. Your eyes and mouth never strayed from its original position. Though you had the inbuilt functionality to move it, your programming did not allow you to tap into those resources.

So when the man across the table from the Self-Aware robot beckoned you towards them, you could only nod and make your way to him.

“Make another one of those pies, (F/N). Gracia is coming over for dinner tonight,” said the dark-haired man with piercing eyes, his voice neither condescending nor commanding. It was conversational, as if you were just another human being who serviced him.

You liked that. Like. It was something foreign to you that you had recently learnt. Feelings were still difficult for you to grasp but all you could tell was that you felt a lightness in your purely mechanical body. It must also be what the Self-Aware robot opposite him felt and as far as your limited understanding of human’s body language went, he had feelings for her as well.

Watching the two of them interact was interesting and you were curious as to how her feelings would be like. Humans might call it jealousy but you knew it was different from how you felt towards the Self-Aware. You didn’t mind that he openly loved her or that the two of them were by definition a couple. What you did want to know was how that relationship changed the Self-Aware. She seemed… happier when she was with him and you badly wanted to understand that feeling.

“How is she, Roy?” the Self-Aware asked her owner while you headed back towards the kitchen.

Roy took a sip of his coffee, his lazily swept bangs almost touching the surface of the hot liquid. “She’s holding up fine but without Hughes around, things must still be pretty tough on her both physically and emotionally. Look in on her more often, Riza.”

The Self-Aware nodded, her eyebrows furrowing slightly in what you detected as concern and worry for Gracia. “Yeah, of course. Are they assigning a new robot to her?”

Sighing, Roy shook his head. “She doesn’t want another one so soon but they’ll give her a female one. But as you know, there’s been a delay in the production since the rise in theft.”

Riza folded her arms, tapping her index finger lightly on her elbow. “So what did you think Hughes meant by that word?”

“Wus. I don’t know. Could it be German?”

“No. I’ve double-checked against all known languages,” Riza replied as she projected the image from her memory onto the surface of the table. 

Roy focused on the bloody handwriting on the floor and from the corner of your eyes, you could see that he was trying hard not to follow the trail of blood that led to Hughes mechanical arm. Although Hughes was another police force robot, he had achieved Self-Aware many years prior and had worked closely with Roy, establishing a firm friendship with the young captain at the time. 

“Maybe we’re interpreting it wrongly. The writing is scrawled pretty badly after all,” he said, squinting at each squiggle. “What bothers me though is how so many Self-Awares could just power off and with their memory chip wiped clean as well. What are the possibilities, Riza?”

“The first is a possible catastrophic failure of the software which could be due to certain external environmental conditions or to the evolution of the code which is probably more likely since all are Self-Awares-“

Roy interjected, “No, that might not be. According to the interviews, each of them attained Self-Aware at different stages of their lifespan and belonged to different categories of robots.”

“It’s still a possibility since nobody knows exactly how the code evolves and what the physical manifestation of that means. Another possibility but one that is very unlikely due to the air gap and physical security..” Riza trailed off as she noticed Roy looking at her with a deadpan expression. “Basically with all the security countermeasures, it’s unlikely that a type of malware has attacked the system.”

Raising his eyebrows, Roy questioned her. “Malware?”

“To put it plainly, a virus that-“

Roy chuckled slightly. “I know what a virus is, Riza. Well, since you say it’s less likely…”

He stopped midsentence, his eyes wide as saucers. 

“It couldn’t be..”

Riza waited for him to reveal his thoughts and even you held your non-existent breath. After all, this affected Self-Awares and who knew whether you would be the next victim. Unlike a few months ago, you were now concerned about self-preservation and this issue was definitely worrying to your new consciousness.

“Riza, bring up all the events regarding the Self-Awares and project it onto the timeline of the theft incidents.”

With lightning speed, Riza pulled up a chart of the case files and processed it against each event. As she decorated each time point with the incidents, Roy scanned through it quickly. By the time she was done, he had stood up, his chin resting on his palm as he bit his thumb using the corner of his mouth.

“This is pure conjecture… but still. If you look at all the theft incidents, one of the perplexing problems that we have not cracked is the motive underlying the targeted theft of only female robots and why those stolen ones have not appeared in any underground black market.”

“Yes. But we are looking into all current and previous employee records since they are the most suspicious,” Riza elaborated.

Roy lifted a finger to interject. “Indeed but we have not been able to focus our investigation properly, so we have too many potential candidates.”

Folding her arms, Riza nodded in agreement. “I agree but how does this relate to the other case?”

“Aha.” Roy smiled smugly and pointed to the case files. “There’s a common feature of all the Self-Aware cases. All of those Self-Awares have a public relationship with a human being.”

That was certainly interesting. You weren’t as well-versed in criminology as either Roy or Riza but that did sound like a possible lead. It also meant that you were probably safe from this danger, although not so for Riza. Out of the corner of your eyes, you watched their reactions but neither of them had considered this possibility. They were still objectively contemplating the cases, their professionalism something you greatly admired.

Riza scanned through each file before returning her gaze to Roy. “Yes that is true. But it may just be a coincidence.”

“Wus. Hughes wrote it before his arm completely malfunctioned. If you look carefully at the writing, you can make out the letter i in the middle of the W, and what looks like a curve instead of a straight line denotes the letter r. Put it together and you get the word Virus. It’s a virus.”

While Roy pointed out the discrepancies, Riza pulled out her image processing function and calculated the similarity between the writing and the word ‘virus’.

“95% similarity. So you’re probably correct.”

“Exactly. All of the Self-Awares cases and the theft incidents overlap. None of them have occurred within the same time period. So someone with considerable knowledge is targeting these Self-Awares. And not for financial gain nor sabotage. This is personal,” Roy concluded.

Someone against Self-Awares? That wasn’t new but someone with that much knowledge? You felt a cold sinking feeling settle deep in your chest. Yet another new emotion that you quickly categorized as fear. It wasn’t a good feeling to have and in a way, you wished you hadn’t attained Self-Aware which came with such emotional baggage. Was this what Riza felt as well? How did she deal with it?

As if on cue, Riza questioned, “And you think this has something to do with the relationships that the Self-Awares have with humans?”

“I would definitely start my search from that angle, yes,” Roy replied as he studied the case files in detail.

“Initiating search of employees based on those two criteria..” Riza stated as she connected to Interpol’s database and raked through the list of employees.

The silence lasted for 3 minutes and 14 seconds and by the time the soft ding of the oven announced that your pie was done, Riza had finished her scan of the records.

She projected a few images onto the table, the search narrowed down to these individuals whose number was fewer than 10 – a considerable reduction. Roy studied each and every one of them, taking in all the details that had been written up on every aspect of their lives. You couldn’t see anything from where you stood but you trusted the man to choose the prime suspect. His analytical skills were something that even a machine could not imitate. Another one of those things that so intrigued you.

As he sized up each and every candidate, a thin grimace formed on his lips and when he looked up at Riza, his expression was deadly serious. Riza stiffened and you slowed your pace, pouring more concentration into what he would say next.

“This is bad. Really bad. This-“ He pointed to one of the photos on the table. “-is our man.”

Following his finger, Riza’s eyes traveled downwards to linger for no more than a second before shooting back up. “Are you absolutely sure?”

“Read his case file and you’ll know,” Roy hastily claimed as he scrambled to throw on his military jacket. “There’s no time to explain but I’m going to headquarters and round up a squad to bring him in. If I’m right… and I’m sure I am, then a lot of people including us are in danger.”

Roy looked slightly shaken, which was telling a lot. The man was hardly intimidated by anything and that arrogant, cocky attitude was what attracted a lot of women to him – including you. This was the second time you had seen him this way, the first being when he had been informed of Hughes death. For him to be this rattled meant that he perceived this situation as a severe threat to those he loved. This wasn’t good.

“No, Riza.” Roy shook his head as Riza followed close behind him. “Not this time. You stay here with (F/N).”

“But Roy, I have to protect your back,” she protested vehemently, her eyes sharp and her body at attention, ready to enter battle at any moment.

Seeing her insistence, Roy hesitated before grabbing her shoulders. “I know. But this time, the target is you. Not me, but you. So don’t come. I’ll guard your back this time… alright?”

You saw their eye contact deepening, the love that they shared so evidently shown in the small sparkle of light in their irises which eventually culminated in a short kiss. Even as Riza reluctantly accepted to stay back, you could see that she longed to go against Roy’s wishes. 

“Don’t let anyone in, Riza,” Roy said as he made for the door.

“I won’t.”

 

The glowing red emergency lights flickered weakly, illuminating the long dark tunnel ahead. Pressed against the side of a train carriage, Roy cursed at the helplessness of the current situation. They had managed to corner the target at the train station close to the target’s abode. But they underestimated their suspect when he triggered a power shutdown, enveloping them in darkness and the ensuing chaos.

They couldn’t navigate, they couldn’t call for backup, and they were separated from each other. If his target were a more professional criminal, he would have been gone from the scene by now. But judging by the small yelps and hisses, his target was stumbling around like a blind man, just like them. That was a good thing but it wouldn’t last long.

He had to distract him somehow, get him to talk so that they could pinpoint his exact location and capture him with a stealthy attack from behind. Struggling to recall the details of his file, Roy called out loud and clear.

“Mr. Tucker, it’s no use!”

He waited for a while, hearing nothing, but he continued, “Give yourself up! We have you surrounded.”

This time, he heard a soft chuckle from somewhere to his right. “Roy Mustang eh. I’ve heard of you. I’ve heard that you were in love with a young female subordinate…. A female Self-Aware to be precise.”

Roy gulped, dreading where this conversation was leading. His thoughts were immediately with Riza, praying that she was safe inside their house, just helping (F/N) with her daily tasks. It was just a normal day and she was just fine-

“I shut her down already, Roy.”

Those icy cold words left a bitter sting on his skin. The thought of losing the love of his life – a woman, not a robot – brought him closer to hell than ever before. He swore he would smoke Tucker out by any means possible, even if it meant that Tucker’s capture was by death.

Lifting his gun up, he blindly aimed it somewhere to the right where he figured the source of the voice was. It didn’t matter if the bullet hit its target or not. Certainly it would find Tucker after a few tries. 

His finger found the trigger. Gripping the gun firmly, he was about to squeeze down on it when a strong hand clasped his wrist and yanked the weapon away. Roy hissed in anger, about to strike out at the unknown assailant when he heard a soft whisper.

“Roy, it’s me.”

He froze in shock, unable to believe he was hearing her voice in front of him. “Riza?” he ventured.

“I’ve no time to explain but it’s me… More or less me. I’ll distract Tucker. You get your guys towards him,” she spoke urgently.

“Is it really you?” Roy asked, his hands outstretched, wanting to touch her to make sure she was real.

In the darkness, he saw a glowing number exposed. He squinted, slowly making out the faintly luminescent numbers.

**67**

Frowning, he recognized the number but it wasn’t Riza’s identification- It was (F/N)’s. He involuntarily took a step back, confused and afraid of this new entity that stood before him. Was it really Riza or (F/N)?

“You have to trust me, Roy. I’ve got your back as always.”

It was Riza’s calming voice again. Did he really trust her… it? But if she wanted to harm him, he would be dead by now. There was nothing he could do but believe in her words.

“Alright, go get him, girl,” he ordered.

The glowing number disappeared again, covered by whatever clothing she had on. He couldn’t hear her move but he knew she was moving towards the general direction of the target.

“Mr. Tucker.”

It wasn’t Riza’s voice this time but it was definitely feminine. Roy’s confusion rose to an all-new high but he pushed it aside. He had to wait.

“You don’t know who I am and neither do I. I’m a Self-Aware made of two previously Self-Awares – one of which you have just destroyed. You may find this confusing or impossible but it is indeed possible. Your target was Riza but you did not realize that I, (F/N), am also a Self-Aware.”

The silence lasted for a few seconds before a shrill voice spoke up. “What do you want?”

“I understand your motives and your reasoning, Mr. Tucker. You lost your wife, a Self-Aware, to another man and you wish to gain her back by reprogramming her. You have tried unsuccessfully to replicate her state of memory but failed due to the fact that you yourself do not have control over the evolution of your own code. As the creator of robots, you have despaired over this so many times. But I’m here to tell you that you can recover your wife.”

As the thing that claimed to be Riza spoke in a steady voice, Roy tapped on the metal train carriage in Morse code, hoping to reach his subordinates. After repeating his message two times, he heard a faint reply back. Satisfied that they had gotten the message, he slowly crawled out from his position, silently moving towards Tucker’s position. 

Provoked by Riza’s claim, Tucker was jabbering almost maniacally. “Ar-are you kidding me? That’s impossible! The evolution of the code is impossible to predict due to environmental factors… and her memory cannot be recovered. It’s been too long a-and the cells have long died!”

“It is possible. You have tried mimicking other Self-Aware’s emotions of love but have failed because you cannot compare their codes to extract the part of memory that encodes love. I have done exactly that. Because I’m composed of two unique Self-Awares – unique because they share love for the same person.”

Roy halted for a second, perplexed by Riza… or (F/N)’s statement. If he followed the line of reasoning, it meant that the robot who worked for him and Riza, the one he called (F/N), had achieved Self-Aware and also had feelings for him. Had he been that oblivious?

Tucker was speaking louder now, forgetting that he was being hunted right this second. “Wait a minute…. You’re right! Why didn’t I think of that?? I knew that love could be programmed. I just didn’t know how! She- she should have loved _me_. Not him. I didn’t know wha-what was wrong but now I do. Now I know how to _make_ her love only me.”

“Yes, you’re right, Mr. Tucker. Love can be programmed, love can be enforced. Don’t you want to examine me?”

“I do! I just need to-“ Tucker’s sentence was cut off by a shrill scream. In the precious few seconds that he had spoken, his position had been easily compromised. The expertise of Roy’s subordinates only made it easier and after a small scuffle, the lights were turned back on using the device they had gotten off Tucker.

Roy squinted in the sudden glare of the white lights, shielding his eyes with his white police gloves. He could make out his team holding Tucker captive just a few feet away. The man looked old and disheveled, his dirty spectacles hiding away the grief and madness of the genius scientist behind it. How powerful love was to be able to turn such a respectable, brilliant man into a complete and utter wreck. 

“Take him away and lock him in Interrogation Room 1,” Roy ordered.

He watched as his team complied and led the shuffling man away to his impending death. The court would sentence him to prison but such a place could only mean death for the old man. Maybe his lawyer could plead for a case of mental illness but seeing his condition, it was only a matter of time before his obsession consumed him, leaving him an empty shell. Just like a robot, how ironic.

Speaking of which… he turned to the robot standing a few feet away to his left. It had (F/N)’s body but did it really have Riza’s mind in there? He approached it tentatively, his footsteps ringing in the desolate station.

“Roy, I’m glad everything’s okay.” It was Riza’s voice again.

He answered carefully, “Yes it does seem things turned out fine. Wha-what happened to you?”

Just like (F/N), the robot’s movements and expressions were mechanical and few. He couldn’t read her and it bothered him to no end. It was what made Riza so humane and to suddenly hear her voice emitting from such a…. robot was discomforting.

“After you left, the power went off. Tucker had a way of hacking into the power mains and entered the apartment. He managed to transmit the virus into my main processing unit through a backdoor.”

Roy nodded as he reenacted the scene in his mind. “So how did the two of you…”

“I shut myself down to prevent the virus from spreading. Following my commands, (F/N) did a cold boot to retrieve my memory. It had to be done fast. She managed to clean out the virus code and then inserted my chip into her back up drive.” She inhaled sharply, noticing that Roy had that distant look that meant he had no idea what she was saying. “Meaning that (F/N) and me now share this body.”

_I’m sorry, (F/N). Will you forgive me?_

Only you could hear Riza’s apology through your processing unit. You understood that she wasn’t seeking your forgiveness about your current state, but about what had taken place before that.

Earlier, as you held her convulsing body after Tucker’s attack, she had revealed that she known all along that you had attained Self-Aware and were in love with Roy. You were shocked beyond words but could only listen as she explained how her feelings of jealousy had prevented her from revealing it to Roy. But to save Roy, she convinced you that the only way was for the two of you to combine forces… literally. 

You watched Roy as he took in every word with a frown on his face, trying to digest all the information you had thrown upon him. It was like looking through a camera lens actually. With Riza taking the helm, your consciousness took the backseat. But it was so interesting – all these feelings that were pouring through Riza, you could experience all of it firsthand. And with it, you understood love. Love for the man standing in front of you now. Love that could easily turn into jealousy and rage – something Riza must have felt with you too.

_It’s alright, Riza. I understand how you must have felt about me-_

Your speech was cut short by Roy’s choked voice. “Riza… did you mean what you said just now? That love can be enforced? That.. your love for me is just dictated by your code?”

His words tugged at your heart strings and you knew Riza felt it even deeper than you. You were growing to understand her and knowing that she was too emotional for words, you took over the body and spoke in your own voice, hoping to convince Roy of the feelings you both shared for him.

“Roy… I’m (F/N). What we told Mr. Tucker is all false. Please believe us that our feelings for you manifests from our own consciousness. It’s something that we ourselves can never understand, let alone Mr. Tucker. In other words, love cannot be defined. Our love for you… is real.”

When you finished your monologue, you withdrew into your body, letting Riza take over again. You still felt uncomfortable speaking and needed downtime every few seconds. As you switched places with Riza, she whispered her thanks and you smiled inwardly, enjoying your newfound camaderie with the Self-Aware.

The two of you waited with bated breath for Roy to say something, anything at all to you. He seemed to be pondering something as he eyed your body up and down, analyzing it. His lips curved upwards in a smirk and soon, he broke out into laughter.

“I guess you’re right,” Roy said as he walked towards you and cupped your cheek in his hand. “It’ll take some time for me… for all of us to adjust to this. But I guess I now have two girls for myself.”

You blushed at his daring words even though you already knew how confident and flirtatious he could be. A wink from him sent your new developing feelings into a whole flurry of activity, the rush of hormones almost overwhelming your senses. 

“Get used to it,” Riza whispered to you in a knowing tone.

You laughed silently, already loving this new entity that you had become. Maybe you had lost control over your body, but you had gained everything you had wished for.

After all, goodbyes are just the start of a new Hello.


End file.
